Why is Kerala called ‘God’s Own Country’?

‘God’s Own Country’ is one of the most successful slogans in world tourism. It was created in the late 1980s by Kerala’s tourism department, and it caught on because it felt true.

Kerala is a thin strip between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea, about 580 kilometres long. In that strip you get beaches, backwaters, hill stations, tea estates, rainforests and wildlife — almost every kind of landscape except desert.

The name also connects to an old story: the sage Parasurama threw his axe into the sea, and the land of Kerala rose from the waters — land given directly by the gods.

Today the slogan carries a responsibility. Floods, plastic and overbuilding threaten exactly the beauty the words promise. ‘God’s Own Country’ is a brand, a legend and, increasingly, a promise to keep.